Seen You From Somewhere
by BytesTheDust
Summary: Olivia Pope has a new job as an aide to Senator Fitzgerald Grant. As she settles into her new role, she soon realizes two things: her past is inescapable and love hits unexpectedly.


**AN: New Story! I've been having a bit of writer's block, and figured writing something new would help break through it. It did in fact help, so hopefully I'll have BICO and FIO updated soon.**

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Olivia Pope despised tardiness. In her estimation it was the rudest, most presumptuous habit. To her, people who were consistently late were bad planners, bad employees and possibly even bad friends. " _You should never keep someone waiting_ ," her mother drilled into her. It was one of the few pieces of advice her parents had given her that actually stuck. But as she rushed up the stairs of the Russell Senate Office Building, her hair blowing, five inch heels clicking loudly on the cement steps, she quickly realized that she was in fact one of those tardy people she loathed. But it wasn't her fault. There was an expected motorcade that deterred her. She knew that excuse wouldn't stick. Everyone in D.C. dealt with motorcade traffic, and everyone was expected to be on time. And considering she was in the trial period of her new job as an aide to a senator, day seven out of ninety to be exact, punctuality was of the utmost importance.

To make matters worse, she was meeting her boss, Senator Fitzgerald Grant, in person for the first time. He was a junior senator who'd only been sworn into office for 30 days. Though he'd hired his senate staff well after he won the election, his office was still scrambling to find good, competent workers. His schedule was so demanding as of late, flying between D.C. and his home state of California, she'd only gotten the chance to speak to him through a phone interview. After meeting with his executive assistant Cheryl Smith, a tall, slender, middle aged woman, who often acted as the left brain to his right, Olivia was hired on the spot. She immediately clicked with Cheryl who had taken a liking to her. In the past seven days, Cheryl had only been nurturing and supportive, answering all of Olivia's questions and keeping her from making any major mistakes. Although Olivia didn't directly report to Cheryl, it was nice knowing she was there. She only hoped to live up to Cheryl and Senator Grant's expectations.

Rumor had it Senator Grant was impossible to please and fired people without much warning. Considering that Olivia was now Senator Grant's second Legislative Assistant, tasked with monitoring and reading proposed bills, she could surely believe it. She wasn't even sure how she managed to get the job or why she even applied. She wasn't particularly interested in this capacity of governance, and she wasn't even sure she possessed the right skills for it. She paid close attention to detail, but her memory wasn't the best as of late. But the job would have to do for now. It was entry level, but paid enough so that she could save for graduate school. It was mundane and boring, but as a recent college graduate, she was making slightly more than her friends. She couldn't complain.

But she wouldn't have a job at all, if she didn't hightail it to the office. As she went through security, she tried to catch her lost breath and gather herself. She smoothed out the wrinkle in her black pencil skirt and made sure her cream blouse was in place while pulling on the sleeve of her black blazer. Despite the hurry, she knew she looked good. Never one to lack in confidence, she knew that she was impeccably dressed, flattering her beautiful figure. She pulled out her cell phone from her purse to glance at herself with the front facing camera. She smiled at herself, feeling pleased with her appearance. Her body wave curls were perfect. Her subtle make-up complimented her face effortlessly.

Walking through the corridors of the building, heading towards Senator Grant's office suites, her confidence began to dissipate. What excuse could she use to explain her lateness? It didn't matter. She figured it wasn't that big of a deal. She checked the time on her watch. She was twenty minutes late, but she knew if she talked to Cheryl, she could smooth it over. She tried to call to give the office a heads-up, but no one answered. She suspected that with the Senator's arrival, they were probably busy.

As she walked toward Senator Grant's office doors, her clamoring coworkers confirmed her suspicions. She could hear loud, fast-paced, frantic talking from the hallway. When she opened the door, she was met with the frenzied faces of the booming voices. She didn't know many of her coworkers yet, but she recognized staff directors and assistants whisking past and talking over each other. When they weren't talking at each other, they were glued to their phones. She had never seen commotion quite like this. Incessant phone ringing added to the noise. With the pandemonium surrounding her, it looked like her lateness would go unnoticed. _What is happening here?_ She wondered. She moved further into the office towards her desk and noticed Cheryl's cubicle was empty. Before she could even inquire about the chaos and the lack of Cheryl, an intern whose name she could not remember approached her carrying a stack of papers.

"Cheryl's out. Her assistant Becca's out, and our receptionist Cassie is out with the flu. Figures. When we've got the budget deadline brewing," he said in an irritated tone.

"What's this?" Olivia asked as he passed the papers to him.

"Amendment to the Recovery fund. We need to make sure there's no pork spending," he rattled off.

This was an odd occurrence. Things were so hectic. She was now reporting to an intern. This couldn't be right.

"Where's my boss? Where's Stephanie?" Olivia asked incredulously.

"Meeting with the gun lobby. She wanted me to give you those," he informed while staring down at the papers she now held.

Olivia thumbed through the stack. There was no less than 500 pages of documents. There was no way she was getting through this today, not with the office in disarray.

"Once you've read it and analyzed it. You're going to have to fax your remarks to Senator Branton's office. Email's down. Also, some of our phone lines are down. IT is working on both. Should be back up soon."

"Well that explains it," she muttered as she looked around the office and noticed three staffers waiting in line for the fax machine. _Modern communication,_ she thought to herself. _A help and a hindrance._

"Is Senator Grant here," she asked nervously. She hoped the answer would be no. Maybe he also had the flu. Maybe she could avoid their meeting.

"No. Not yet. Flight delay. We're all trying to get organized before he comes. Apparently, a couple of people are on the chopping block," he explained, rolling his eyes with a disdained expression. _Awesome. Another firing._

"You might want to get started on this," he added.

She raised an eyebrow and shook her head. The last thing she needed was advice from an intern. But he was right. She quickly moved to her desk to find any remnants of pork spending in the bill.

"What is that noise? Can someone answer that damn phone," a man's voice said from behind her. Thinking it was her boss, she quickly turned around and realized that it was just a frustrated staffer. She ignored him like most of the office did, but now that he'd pointed out the incessant phone ringing, she couldn't stop hearing it. She looked around to see where exactly it was coming from. There was so much noise, she couldn't tell. But as she approached Cheryl's desk, the ringing became more prominent. There was no way she _wasn't_ answering or at the very least lowering the volume on the ringer. The noise had to stop.

She went to Cheryl's cubicle and saw that a undisclosed number was calling. Everyone in this town had private numbers, yet everyone could be reached. It was completely ineffective. She rolled her eyes and instinctively answered the phone. "Senator Grant's office," she said meekly. _Is this how they answer their phone? Am I supposed to give them my name_? she wondered.

"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN, CHERYL!" A baritone voice yelled on the other end of the line. Though she'd only spoken to him once, she immediately recognized Senator Grant's voice. The familiarity with the sound of his voice stirred something inside of her. It was odd. She remembered feeling that way during their phone interview as well. His voice was so distinct, so familiar.

"Sen-Senator Grant, this isn't Cheryl. She's out of the office today. This is Olivia Pope."

"WHO?"

"Olivia Pope. Your new Legislative Assistant."

"Oh. Right. Why are you answering her phone?" he asked harshly.

"Sir, I'm sorry. It's just…The phone's been ringing off the hook. Half the office doesn't even have a proper phone line to use, and the email server is down. Good god, you'd think these people missed the rapture with the way their running around like headless chickens," she said quickly _. Fuck. Did I just say that out loud? In the phone? To my boss?_

Her heart pounded. Her ability to put her foot in her mouth never ceased to amaze her. She was a straight shooter, a blunt speaker. But sometimes it was more of a flaw than an attribute. Before she could beat herself up too much, she heard him chuckle on the other end. She was surprised by his laughter, but didn't know what to say. Surely he was calling for a reason.

"Listen, I need a phone number," he explained.

"Okay," she said looking around Cheryl's desk for an address book or a rolodex. _Who even uses a rolodex?_

"My personal phone was stolen. My work phone is officially dead. The charger is in my luggage, which apparently is lost in Denver," he said.

She looked at the time on the phone. "Wow! It's only 9:30, but I think you might be having the worst day. Maybe worse than the headless chickens…I mean, staff, in the office," she said. _Stop talking_ , she willed herself. She was saying all the wrong things. But he laughed again, which brought a smile to her face.

"In any case, I'm calling you from one of those international pay phones at Dulles…" he said.

"Pay phones? What are those?"

He didn't answer, feeling immediately old, not knowing if she was being serious.

"Kidding," she clarified, filling the awkward moment of silence. But when he chuckled for a third time, she beamed. The sound of his laughter was infectious and still oddly familiar. "Alright. Where does Cheryl keep her contact information?" she said seriously.

"She wouldn't have it," he said as if she should have known that fact.

"Okay. Well, how am supposed to…"

"You know what? Never mind. I'll be in the office in forty-five minutes. I'll just...No this can't wait," he said thinking out loud. "I need you to go in my office and look for it. It's gotta be on a piece of paper in my desk," he said.

Olivia took a moment to look around the room. Nothing had settled. No one seemed to even notice that she was sitting behind Cheryl's desk. She looked towards his office. While every employee was designated a cubicle space, he naturally had an enclosed, private office space. The door was shut, and the idea of going in when no one was inside made her nervous even though she had his permission.

"Your door is closed," she said apprehensively.

"Open it."

"Is it locked?" she asked.

"Olivia," he said slowly. "Just go inside and find the number. Please," he said firmly. She was impressed that he had remembered her name. But maybe it was a bad thing. He'd know exactly who to fire when he returned to the office.

"I'll have to put you on a hold for a moment and pick it up on your line in your office unless you're sure where the number is," she said.

"Okay. But hurry," he replied. Before she placed the handset down, she stared at the phone base having no idea how to properly transfer a call. Cheryl's phone board was far more sophisticated than hers, which made sense seeing considering she had to cipher through far more calls. She put the phone back up to her ear.

"What line are you?" she asked, feeling herself become tense, knowing he was annoyed by how long this was taking.

"What?" he asked, not understanding the question.

"I'm sorry. I don't know how to transfer the call."

"Hit the top right button and then the bottom left button. I'm line two," he explained in a surprisingly mellow, patient voice.

"Thanks," she said before heeding his instructions and transferring the call. Nervously, she sauntered to his office and pushed the door open. To her relief, no one seemed to notice her go inside. But when she accidentally slammed the door shut, she was certain that it got her coworkers' attention, much to her chagrin.

As she made her way inside, she took note of the décor. His office was nothing short of pristine. The antique couches and chairs, the expansive wooden desk that filled the room and the portraits of past senators that hung on the walls created a sense of grandness, giving an air of prestige. She tried not to get distracted, trying to focus on the task at hand. _Phone number. Phone number_ , she reminded herself.

She took a breath and picked up the phone. "Okay. I'm back. Where could this number be?" she asked as she settled behind his desk.

"I don't know. Look in one of the drawers in my desk. It might be on a scrap of paper," he explained.

She assumed that this was highly unlikely. From the meticulousness of his work space, she couldn't imagine that he had scraps of paper just lying around. Everything on his desk was neat and orderly. But she didn't question it aloud. She pulled out his top drawer, and to her surprise, it was filled with sticky notes and scraps of paper with phone numbers and random short hand notes. She glanced up while she began to rummage through the paper scraps.

She noticed the pictures that sat on the edge of his desk, him and two young children. She was positive he didn't have children. She Googled him and his office prior to her interview wanting to be fully prepared. Maybe he did have children, and she just hadn't come across that fact on the Internet. She was sure he wasn't married, but seeing a picture of him and a beautiful brunette wrapped up in each other's arms, made her question that too. One thing was certain, he was impossibly handsome. She noticed that the first time she searched him. Dozens of photos online showed him and his chiseled physique looking as attractive as ever. But seeing glossy photos of him up close only confirmed it. He also looked vaguely familiar, like someone she used to know, someone that she'd seen from somewhere. Was it her high school gym teacher? Her middle school best friend's brother? She couldn't figure it out.

"What's the name?" she asked, still not sure what she was looking for.

"Richard Ellis," he responded. She quickly looked through each piece of paper for that name.

"Richard Ellis," she repeated. "Hmm..I see Mary in catering, Cheryl's cell, Senator Johnson, Representative…" she started while she sifted through the notes, but she got distracted by his picture. The familiarity with his face was striking. Hearing him huff and puff on the other end of the phone let her know that she was taking too long for his liking. She brushed off the feeling of familiarity, chalking it up to his senate run. She'd probably seen in him in the news recently or during the campaign. She didn't live in California to see him campaign, but maybe he'd made national news.

"You do know that you have apps on your phone where you can store numbers," she said. She wasn't trying to be condescending. But this drawer of numbers was excessive. _Why would he have this?_

"I know that, and I use them. But you never know when you'll need a contact. I like to keep numbers."

"You're not some type of hoarder are you?" she asked, realizing that she was word vomiting to the highest degree. She couldn't stop herself from saying inappropriate things.

"Does it matter? Can you even hoard numbers?"

"From the looks of this desk, I'd say…"

"I'd say, can you just find the number. It cannot be that hard. I can get someone else to do it."

"Sorry. I'm looking," she responded. "Wait! If it's in your phone, it's probably stored to the Cloud," Olivia remembered.

He sighed, a breath of relief. He wasn't the greatest with technology and wasn't sure what the Cloud was exactly, but she seemed confident in it. This morning had been so hectic for him, he wasn't thinking clearly. He was thankful that someone else was.

"What's your password?" she asked, as she tried to log on his computer. His user name was already set.

"Capital P. Lower case. a-s-s-w-o-r-d, underscore 6969," he said as she typed the letters quickly.

"Wait. Are you serious?" she asked with a giggle. "That is without a doubt the world's worst password, and it's slightly inappropriate" she said seriously. "It's a wonder you haven't gotten hacked. Senator, you should _really_ change that," she advised.

"It's the easiest to remember. It's the house I grew up in. Are you in?" he asked, growing more impatient by the second.

"Yes. Okay. Let's pull up the cloud," she said as she navigated his desktop. "Is this your username and password for everything?" she asked.

"More or less, but that's not entirely relevant…"

"Got it," she said as she logged onto his cloud account and opened up his Contacts app. It was sorted by last name.

"Let's see. A, B, E…" she said as she scrolled through his contacts. "I found it. Richard El…" she said and then gasped. Her hand instantly trembled on the mouse.

"What's the number?" he asked impatiently.

She clicked on the contact and paused for a moment. "It's um…555," she said, but her breath began to leave her body.

"What's the rest?" he asked.

"S-Six-five-e-eight-five," she stuttered out.

"Great. Thanks so much, Olivia. I look forward to meeting you soon," he said before promptly hanging up.

She placed the phone on the hook and stared at his computer screen. Reading a name had never given her so much pause. Maybe she read it wrong. She clicked away from Richard's contact information and back to list of E last names. Following Richard Ellis was the name Alex Ellison.

 _Alex Ellison._ She read the name over and over again. She couldn't get up from his chair or move away from his computer. Alex was a common name, and Ellison wasn't too strange. But seeing the names together on a near stranger's computer screen was jarring and shocking to say the least. _How did he know Alex Ellison?_ There was no way he knew _her_ Alex Ellison. There was no way he knew _her_. She clicked on the name out of utter shock and curiosity. She was officially snooping, but she didn't care. A sudden wave of nausea hit her when she read the listed phone number, a number she used to know well.

Panicked and scared, she swiftly exed out of his cloud account and logged off his computer. She ran out of his office, needing to gather her bearings. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't think. The name Alex Ellison taunted her. She needed out of this office, out of this building. Petrified and in a hurry, she left the Grant office suite and stormed the halls of the Senate Building without looking back.

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 **AN: I hope y'all enjoyed this first chapter. I enjoyed writing it. This story will be a bit darker than the my previous ones. I'd love to know what you think! A bit of foreshadowing happening. Any predictions? Thoughts on Olitz dynamic so far? Let me know!**


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